CHICAGO - The Ohio State recruiting effort has made some inroads in Texas under the watchful eye of offensive coordinator Tom Herman[db] and the Buckeyes have made an impression on Lewisville (Texas) safety prospect [db]Jamal Adams.

The nation's No. 39 prospect checks in at 6-foot, 199 pounds and was a force at the recent Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge. It was hard to miss Adams on the field during the 7-on-7 event, during the play as he showed off tremendous ball skills and after the play where he showed off tremendous dancing skills as he hooped and hollered and got his team pumped up as he led his squad to the championship of the event.

"It was a great experience to come out here and compete with all the top prospects in the nation," Adams said. "Getting to know these guys, they are all cool guys, with us all out here competing and having fun."

Adams did not view the trip as a vacation but more of a business trip, a trip where he wanted to get better at his skills.

Recently Adams cut his list nearly in half down to a top-12 schools and now has Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA and USC as the dozen schools he is considering. Adams would not show his hand any further when asked if any schools were standing out from that list.

"Really everybody is showing me love in my top-12 right now," Adams said. "Everyone has shown a lot of love but I am going to break it down to a top-five here pretty soon. That will either be before the season or after the season."

The Buckeyes made the cut and Adams has been in touch with Tom Herman throughout the process but the brand name of Urban Meyer means a lot too when trying to recruit players out of your state and region.

"My interest in Ohio State is pretty high," Adams said. "Coach Urban Meyer is doing a great job up there with those guys and they definitely have the potential to make a lot of national championship runs."

And as with most players from a great distance the trick will be getting them on campus for a visit, especially before it is too late and the list gets cut further. The Buckeyes are working hard to try and get Adams to come up during the summer and visit.

"I am trying to get out there this summer for an unofficial visit still," Adams said.

The four-star could likely call up and of the dozen schools on his list (or beyond that list) and commit tomorrow if he wanted to at any of them, but what is most important to him when it comes to making a decision for what will be the 'right school'?

"I just want to find the best fit for me and the best opportunity," Adams said.